Things Best Left Alone
by SeekerLuna
Summary: When Halkrath saved that little ooman, he never expected to see her again but fate has other plans for the yautja hunter. Rated M to be safe for later themes. Eventual Predator/OC
1. Chapter 1

So yeah its been a long time since I've posted anything so have a thing. Just a thing I wrote while I was tipsy, not sure if I'll continue or not.

I don't own AVP or anything. I do own Halkrath and any and all OC's that pop up.

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><p>Halkrath hadn't expected this at all.<p>

He'd come to Earth expecting just a normal clean up after the newly-blooded were finished with their chiva but this was not something he was trained to handle. Before he, laid out in a blanket, was a tiny ooman pup, squabbling and crying for the dead parents that he'd likely passed on his way in. What in Paya's name was he supposed to do with it? His training hadn't prepared him for such things nor had his life as a sire. It was the females job to do all the pup rearing, not the males. So this was completely out of his area of expertise.

Huffing, he knelt down, examining it, running scans and picking up its vitals. Overall, it seemed healthy, no signs of damage from the acidic blood, no internal damage… it was amazing that the creature had escaped injury to begin with. But now he was faced with what to do with the thing. It wasn't like he could bring it back to Yautja Prime and raise it, no, that would be a terrible idea really. His kind didn't know how to raise ooman children, they had different needs than their pups and he wasn't about to take it back only to have it die on him. Little ones were precious to the world and he wanted it to have a chance to live. Paya must have some plan for it if it was able to survive this night.

"_What am I to do with you?" _He clicked, reaching out and touching the pink child with the tip of his claw. In the time he'd been thinking, the child had calmed, looking at him with brilliant green orbs. It wasn't afraid of him, Halkrath picked up no signs of distress from the child and it caused him to release an amused chuff. "_You are strong, little ooman, and brave, you do not fear me." _He let it grasp his claw and rumbled a bit, feeling the weak yet strong grasp it had.

Halkrath still needed to figure out what to do with it and time was running out. He was due back before the dawn of this planets cycle and that was fast approaching. Perhaps he could find a new family and leave it with them… He had seen ooman's do this before, especially desperate mothers. They left their children at random houses or what he could only guess were holy places and the children were always picked up and cared for. Seeing as he could not risk taking the tiny ooman with him, that seemed to be his only possible option. Clicking, he gently lifted the little ooman up, awed that it was so fragile. It also disgusted him, making him wonder how the oomans had lived for so long with their fragile bodies. Standing and clocking himself, and the child, he made his way out, heading into the town not a few miles away from his current position.

Scouting the town for suitable parents for the child was a task but he did it quickly enough, finding a pair who were both healthy and strong and of good standing, from what he could tell. He gently placed the child down and rumbled, still amused that the child was so quiet in his foreboding presence. Now.. how to get the oomans attention? Chuffing, he lightly knicked the little oomans collar, blood oozing up from the slight cut he made. The reaction was instant as it started to scream and cry in pain and confusion, unable to see what had hurt it.

Halkrath was far enough away by the time the adult oomans came to see what the fuss was, watching with slight pride as his choices picked the little ooman up and brought it inside. Good, it would be cared for, he'd made the right decision. Now, he would watch from afar, he had time to spare until he was due home. So now he could relax and gather some new ooman skulls for his trophy case.


	2. Chapter 2

Halkrath in yautja means Shadows. Anyway I'm here with another chapter ish. Have at it.

I don't own AVP or anything. Just Halkrath and any other OC's.

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><p>Halkrath growled as he hunted the hard meats, snarling as he followed it into an ooman home. It had been 18 Earth cycles, or years, since he'd been here and Paya was he upset about it. Really? Could no hunter do a job properly these days? He was not the clean up crew! Honestly, what did his sire take him for?<p>

Focusing back on the fight at hand, he threw his arms out and roared a challenge to the other creature, almost missing the high pitched scream that was distinctively female. Hissing, he whipped his head around, dreads slapping his shoulders to spot a terrified ooman female. But she was in the way of his target... He grabbed her and tossed her like a rag doll, snarling as he narrowly missed being hit by that razor sharp tail.

The girl who'd been tossed however, groaned and gasped, eyes bulging from her skull at the sight before her. Two giant alien monsters were duking it out in her living room... This was a dream, it had to be a dream. But the pain in her sides and ears told her this was in fact very, very real.

Halkrath snarled as he quickly finished the job but not before destroying a good bit of the ooman dwelling. With a shake of his head, he seemed to mock the creature and then he seemed to remember the female pressing herself into the tightest corner of the room. Snorting, he turned and started towards her, watching and listening as he breath and heart rate sped up. He could smell her fear as it permeated the air around him, nearly masking the scent of the dead hard meat. Why was she afraid? He'd just saved her.

"Stay away from me!" She shouted, throwing a broken chair leg at the creature which, to her horror, seemed to upset and amuse it all together. The beast let out a roar that immediately had her cowering again. Good. He knelt down, studying her, checking her for injury or any other signs of distress.

She had a cut along her left side, some bruising on her back probably due to his rough handling, and some bleeding from her forehead, again from his tossing her.

"Hurt." He growled, pointing at her, hoping she would understand before the shock of her injuries hit her. The woman seemed stunned that he could speak and stammered for a moment before looking down and checking herself, her breathing picking up again when she pulled her hands away to find sticky blood.

"Oh god.." She whimpered. "I'm bleeding." Oomans were so odd at the worst of times. Halkrath growled and grabbed her arm, yanking her up and scanning the home for a suitable place to set up and treat her injuries. The female yelped and squealed, trying to fight him but he simply growled, silencing her. Finally, he yanked her into the kitchen and forced her into the table, placing her on her belly to treat her injuries.

Halkrath growled at all her protesting and resorted to purring, something that soothed females of his own species when they were distressed or upset. It seemed to have an affect on the ooman as she started to calm, her protests dying out. It was good to know that this worked on females of other species.

Fisting her strange thing clothing in his hand, he growled and tugged at it, ripping it with a protest from the female which died out as quickly as it started as he started up his purring once more. First things first, he had to disinfect the wound. Getting out a green gel from his medikit, he poured some out onto his fingers and spread it over the gash, feeling as the ooman tensed and relaxed. Good, he needed her to relax because the next part would hurt.

"Still." He rumbled, pulling out a syringe. He placed one hand on her back, unfortunately right where the forming bruise was, and jabbed the syringe right into the wound. The ooman screeched and struggled under his hold as he injected the healing agent. He pulled the syringe back and placed it down, coating her injury with a substance that would dry into a smooth finish to protect and aid in the healing. He purred and stroked her strange ooman hair, praising her almost for going through this and not passing out.

Halkrath kept an eye on her vitals, seeing that she was okay and stable, almost asleep actually. He snorted and lifted her, carefully carrying her to the upper level of the house where he'd spotted a room with a structure that he was certain was an ooman bed. The lights were on which was odd but he disregarded it as he set the ooman down on the bed. Once he did so, he stepped back and studied her, tilting his head this way and that. She was fair, thin, not unhealthy though no, she was very healthy if the muscle tone in her body was anything to go by. Her hair was pale and soft much like silk, it felt nice to touch. One thing however, caught his interest.

A scar on her collar bone. It looked oddly familiar...

He reached out and stroked it gently, purring softly, the sound becoming louder as he played with her hair.

No it couldn't be.. Could it? The same little ooman he'd rescued all those cycles ago? Oh now this was interesting indeed...

My how she had grown. The years had been very kind on her indeed and he doubted she remembered him. She'd been just a pup when he'd seen her last. He'd left Earth after perhaps five Earthen cycles of watching over her.

Now that he knew just who she was, Halkrath was more inclined to stay and watch over her some more. He had some time to spare, so he would spend it here with the not so little ooman from the past.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm back with another update!

Halkrath- shadows

Yautja Prime- predator homeworld

I do not own AVP or anything. Halkrath and Kera are mine.

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><p>Kera shot up in her bed, hissing and clutching at her side. Okay now that was odd.. Unless..<p>

That odd purring filled the room, the woman instantly relaxing. She remembered that noise but if it was in fact real then...

"Oh shit.." She groaned, pressing herself up against the headboard. The purring continued, scaring her more than soothing her now. She looked around frantically for the source of the sound, eyes bulging when she saw a shimmer in the corner and suddenly a 7 ft monster with mottled black and gray... Scales? Yeah definitely scales. And he, because it was very obviously a he if the piece below his loin cloth was anything to go by, was the source of that purring.

"Stay back." She squeaked, trying to seem brave. This only seemed to amuse the beast as it let out a clicking, deep laugh. "I mean it!" The creature started to come towards her., the purring increasing and becoming steadier, louder. Kera started relaxing again, watching him, trembling as he stopped beside the bed.

"Pain?" That one word startled the female and shocked her. He could speak English?

"A little," she responded slowly, watching him nod.

"Make better." He pointed to himself and puffed up his chest like he was proud of himself.

"You.. Helped me?" She frowned and moved, swinging her legs over the bed, keeping her eyes on the hunter. She stood gingerly, limping as she made her way to the bathroom to look. She tugged at her shirt, uncaring of the beast who was staring after her, and looked into the mirror. A large black and blue bruise was forming on her back and the gash on her side was healing nicely, though the strange covering on her wound drew her attention. "What's this?"

"Help with healing." He told her, cocking his head. Was she pleaded with his work then?

"It feels strange.." Kera frowned, touching the strange rubber like patch. Almost immediately, the beast moved and grabbed her wrist, yanking her hand away from the injury.

"Do not touch." He growled, squeezing her wrist to empathize his point.

"Ow! Okay, okay, I won't touch it!" Pleased, he released her and stepped back. "So what's your name?"

He cocked his head at her and frowned to himself, trying to translate her words.

"Halkrath." He had no problem saying his name. "You name?"

"Kera." So his little oomans name was Kera... He tried to say it a few times, much to the females entertainment, before he got it somewhat correct. He checked his gauntlet, frowning, he did not have much time left before he needed to head back to the ship but is could not just leave the female here now that he'd encountered her again after all these many cycles.

"Come." He clicked to her, calling for his ship.

"What? No I'm not going anywhere with you." She dug her proverbial heels on and crossed her arms, leveling a glare at Halkrath. The big guy though was having none of it and reached out to grab her by her waist, hauling her up over his shoulder. The female yelped and struggled, pounding on his well muscled back.

"Stop." He tightened his hold and growled. After a few more hits, Kera fell limp and silent, her back now aching from the big brute squeezing her. Pleased that she'd stopped fighting, Halkrath made his way out of the home with her, noting with some relief that she lived in a rather secluded area away from other oomans. Disengaging the cloak around his ship, the ramp lowered and he stepped in, grunting when Kera decided to start struggling again.

"Halkrath! Whoa! No no no, I'm not getting on that ship!" She was panicking from what his bio-masks sensors were telling him and that was not good for her body. So he started to purr, hoping it would calm her.

And it did.

The little ooman female settled and simply muttered protests, freaked out by this whole experience. First she was attacked by some acid for blood monster then Halkrath shows up and kills it and now she was being taken onto a space ship! She had every right in the universe to panic.

"Stay." Halkrath set her down in the control room, settling her his seat. "Be back." He needed to go cleanse her home before any ooman authorities showed up. Stepping into the home, Halkrath pulled a canister from his belt and unscrewed it, pouring the blue solvent over the dead bodies of not one, but what appeared to be two hard meats. He cocked his head at this. Had the female managed to kill one before his intervention? He would ask later but the thought made his chest swell with pride anyway.

Soon he made his way back to the ship, immediately scanning to make sure his little ooman was still on board. He found her exactly where he'd left her, pleasing him greatly. At least she listened to him and didn't try to run away like most oomans would do. He went up to the control deck, rumbling as he lifted Kera up and then set her on the floor.

"We go now," he rumbled. "We go home."

"Home? My home is here big guy." Kera frowned, not liking where this was going.

"This no home, home gone." The predator tried to explain, having trouble with pronunciation. "No safe." He started to tap buttons at the control panel, starting up the ship and punching in the coordinates for Yautja Prime. Before she could protest again, they were in the air, breaking through Earths atmosphere.

This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be real. Kera scrambled up into the second chair, up onto the panel to look out the glass.

"Space." She squeaked out. "Oh God we're in space."

Halkrath moved just fast enough to catch her as she fainted.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry guys! I got all caught up. Had a big family event to attend and now the new semester is upon me. So it'll be a while between updates.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own characters

"..." Ooman speech.

_"..." _Yautja speaking to one another. This will only show up from time to time, otherwise it will be normal un-italicized wording.

Halkrath- Shadow

Sei-i: Yes/Affirmative

H'ko: No

Ooman: human

lou-dte kale: Child-maker, female

Lar'ke: Moon

Guan H'chak: Night mercy

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><p>Halkrath knew, as soon as Kera woke, she would have questions so when she started asking, he was prepared for it.<p>

"So you hunt things for rank, status and right to mate?" She sat back in the seat, frowning to herself.

"Sei-i." He nodded, watching the confusion on her face. "Means yes."

"Oh." Kera wrung her hands and looked about nervously, avoiding looking at the intimidating mask her captor wore. She still considered this to be kidnapping, he'd taken her from her home without even a proper explanation or her consent! "So where are we going exactly?"

"Clan ship. Then Yautja Prime."

"That's your home yes?" He nodded, those dreadlock tendrils on his head shifting.

"Will be at clan ship soon. Ooman need stay close to Halkrath." It sounded much like a warning to Kera and that was exactly what Halkrath wanted. While his clan was accepting they would not like his bringing a live ooman on board the ship. Many would possibly try and harm her, though that would automatically brand them as ic'jit, a bad-blood, for hunting and harming unarmed female prey.

Soon, he was hailed by the clan ship, requesting his name and reason for approach. Once stated, he was allowed to approach and dock, though his attention was on the now stunned ooman beside him. The look on her face was priceless really, the way her eyes nearly bulged from her skull and her jaw hung open. Clicking behind his mask, he drew her attention and motioned for her to follow as his ship jolted, signaling that they were completely docked. As the ramp lowered, Halkrath kept Kera partially hidden behind him. Lot of good that would do once they walked down the ramp.

"Ke'ra not speak unless spoken to." He told her firmly.

"Okay." She nodded though Halkrath did not see, his attention on the ramp as it started to lower.

They exited the ship and almost immediately there was a flurry of activity and the tangy scent of fear as the human got a glimpse of the group of hunters that met them at the bottom of the ramp. She watched as Halkrath grabbed each of their shoulders and shook them in what she could only guess was a greeting.

"Ooman!" Kera barely had time to react as a large hand suddenly grabbed her by the back of her neck and hauled her up off the ground. She yelped and screamed, drawing more attention to the group as more than a dozen heads turned to see the commotion. She was drawn towards the things face, oh gods it had such a horrible face. The inner part of its mouth had fangs and no lips to be seen, the mandibles flexing and flaring as it roared in her face.

"_H'ko! San'tiv!_" The one holding her jerked his head up, dreads slapping his back as he glared at Halkrath. "Ooman mine." San'tiv seemed to regard him for a moment before snorting and thrusting Kera towards Halkrath, dropping her on her rear.

"_Disgusting. An ooman pet._" The shorter San'tiv spat.

"_Watch your words._" Halkrath growled, squaring his shoulders in case San'tiv decided to press the issue. The others remained quiet, observing and a little disappointed when San'tiv did not challenge Halkrath. He made sure Kera was uninjured and growled, motioning for her to follow and stay close. She was understandably nervous at first but when she realized she was going to be left behind, she quickly scrambled to catch up.

"Where are we going?" She blurted out, nervous as she followed the big hunter.

"Cleansing." He rumbled. Really it was the first stop any of the clan made when they brought an alien onto the ship. They needed to be inspected, microchipped and given a slew of injections. When he stepped into the clinic a healer approached and raised a spiked eyebrow, noticing the timid creature at his side.

"_Never expected you to capture an ooman pet._"

"_Things change._" He waved a dismissive hand. "_Give her the treatments, do a thorough check._"

"_Of course._" The healer moved, snatching up the ooman even as she began to scream. "Be still, lou-dte kale." He heard Halkrath begin to purr and watched, clicking a bit as be watched the ooman begin to calm. "I ask that you remain here, warrior, this will take sometime." The healer clicked, picking up the soothing purr when Halkrath stopped, taking the ooman into the back rooms. Another healer met with him, larger, more robust, a female.

"Ooman?" She clicked her tusks, cocking her head to the side.

"Sei-i." The other nodded. "_Lar'ke, grab the cart, we are to do a full exam. Perhaps the ooman would be more comfortable with you performing the more sensitive tests._"

"_I will ask._" She moved as Guan H'chak settled the ooman on the exam table. "Ooman, I am Lar'ke. We examine you. Want to know if it would be better if I did more sensitive tests."

Kera was stunned. The voice was gravely but still distinctly female. She was massive though! Even bigger than Halkrath or the big guy who'd brought her in here.

"Sensitive tests?" Well didn't she sound eloquent today.

"Check female parts." The huge female responded, holding back a laugh at how quickly the ooman changed colors in what Lar'ke knew was embarrassment. "Will be as gentle as possible, have done many times before."

It wasn't how much experience she had that bothered Kera, it was the thought of a giant 8 foot tall alien woman checking out her privates that bothered her.

"Remove your.. Outerwear or it will be removed for you." Guan H'chak, once again surprising Kera with how well they could speak English.

"What? Oh no, no, no! I'm not taking my clothes off!" Kera raised her as and formed an x in front of her, confusing both Yautja. Guan H'chak moved and held her down while Lar'ke began cutting away the pathetically thin excuse for armor the small female wore. Kera thrashed and screeched, fighting to no avail and soon she was naked before them.

"I will start with the more sensitive tests as well as taking down height and weight." Lar'ke clicked her tusks together, having her stand from the table and towards the wall to take her height. Kera, meanwhile, just kept telling herself this was just like any other doctors visit. If doctors visits included being taken into space and stripped in front of two giant aliens.

"Could be better weight." Guan H'chak grunted, tapping in the information on a pad. "Will draw blood now to see what proteins needed." He lifted a rather large hypodermic needle.

Kera normally wasn't bothered by needles, not by a long shot, but the sight of this one positively terrified her. Lar'ke seemed to notice this and grabbed the ooman, holding out her arm for Guan H'chak to draw blood from. They were unconcerned when she began to pale and simply continued on with their tasks.

This was going to take a while.

When finally she was returned to Halkrath, Kera was exhausted and puffy eyed.

"_Ooman is healthy. Need more protein and nutrients, so we made some medicine for her to take twice daily._" Guan H'chak handed Halkrath two large bottles. "_She has been microchipped and cleansed of all contaminants and ailments. She will be tired for a cycle or two but that is normal. It is suggested you go get her branded, official papers written or at least get a collar._"

"_I will do so another time. For now I wish to take Ke'ra, the ooman, and get her fed. She has been through much. I found her being attacked by kiande amedha. I have reason to believe she killed at least one before I arrived._"

"_Hm.. She shows much strength. It would not surprise me if that is indeed true. Now take the female and get her rested._" Thankfully they'd already clothed her in a bandeau and skirt of fur.

Halkrath lifted Kera, the drowsy female mumbling and putting up a small fight before going limp. He knew from watching others that she would be upset come the next cycle and quietly prepared himself for the earful he would surely get. Though the thought of prey screaming at him and pointing fingers had him growling. She should be thankful! He was saving her from a dull life and possibly death. If it weren't for him, she would be dead on the floor of her own home with a hole in her chest.

Hurriedly making his way down to his quarters, typing in the code and chuffing. He made his way to the sunken in circle at the center of the room, settling her into the plush furs.

"Rest well, ooman, there is much we must discuss upon the new cycle."


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! So I now have a Beta reader! Keep an eye out for some major revisions to the previous chapters in the coming weeks, so don't be too surprised when things start shifting around and characters change a bit! So though this one is here now, it will probably change.

I don't own the Predator or Alien franchises.

"..." Normal/English/Yautja

_"..." _Yautja when spoken around humans.

Halkrath: Shadows

Kainde Amedha: Hard Meats/Xenomorphs

Ooman: Slang for humans.

Guan H'chak: Night (guan) Mercy (h'chak)

Lar'ke: Moon

H'ko: No

Bhu'ja: Soul/ghost/spirit

Pauk: Fuck

Sei-i: Yes/affirmative

Bakuub: Straight Spear

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><p>Halkrath wasn't sure what to think as he started at the ooman who was hidden under the furs, his mandibles and mouth slack as he let his brain catch up to the verbal beating he'd just received. Had this lowly female just yelled at him? Halkrath felt his temper flare as Kera's words caught up and he flared his mandibles, roaring at her, angered by her words.<p>

"Ooman should be grateful! Could have been left to die! Should thank for bringing ooman here to live!" He snarled at her, grabbing and shaking her. "Ooman show respect!" He watched the fear on her face, how pale she became. The sight gave Halkrath a rush of power he rarely experienced when dealing with a female of his own kind and he rather liked it. Huffing and puffing, the large Yautja shoved at her, pushing her back into the bed, growling as he got up and left.

The hunter snarled and clicked as he walked, trying to clear his head from the rage he felt. How dare she challenge him that way! If it weren't for him, she would be kainde amedha bait!

As he walked, two of his hunt brothers noticed him and stopped to greet him with firm shakes to his shoulder.

"Brother, we had heard of your return." The larger of the two spoke, mandibles weaving in the air, silver tipped tusks clicking together. Bhu'ja was a rather pale hunter with yellow and black mottled skin and odd silver and red rimmed eyes. "How did the hunt go?"

"I got a few worthy trophies but it was rather humiliating that I of all hunters was sent to clean up." He drawled, shaking their shoulders each in return.

"We have also heard of more interesting news. You brought back an ooman?" Bakuub, Bhu'ja's young brother by blood, looked to Halkrath with curious brown eyes. He was much darker than his elder brother, sporting a black and brown hide.

Halkrath seemed to regard them both. It was not that he didn't trust them but more so he did not trust those around them. He made a soft trilling noise and motioned for them to follow, leading them back to his quarters. He punched in the code and walked in first before the other two, eyes sweeping the room until he spotted Kera. She'd somehow managed to tuck herself into a corner of the room, holding a fur close, fast asleep. Seems she'd exhausted herself from her little fit she'd surely thrown after he'd left.

"I've never seen an ooman outside of a trade cage or without a collar." Bakuub moved past the two older hunters despite his brother growling at him to not touch it. Halkrath bristled and moved to catch Bakuub before he disturbed Kera, knowing the ooman would wake and scream if she saw Bakuub with his face right next to her. The young blooded warrior was far too curious and it often landed him in a lot of trouble.

"H'ko! Do not touch!" Halkrath spread his mandibles, growling, keeping track of Kera's vital's to make sure she remained asleep.

"So when did you decide to take a pet?"

"The ooman caught my attention. I believe she killed a hard meat before my arrival in her dwelling." He snorted, watching as Bakuub squirmed, obviously wanting to touch and examine the ooman.

"Female?" Bhu'ja cocked his head, putting his bio mask on and quickly zeroing in on the ooman. "Pet? Sex slave?" He smirked, mandibles twitching when Halkrath let his jaw fall open.

"Pauk no!" He let out a loud, hearty laugh. "She's-" A loud scream cut him off. Halkrath groaned and turned, seeing that Kera was now very much awake and very obviously terrified of the two new-comers. The two others quickly caught wind of the thick stench of fear and looked to Halkrath, quietly asking what they should do. Though in Bhu'ja's case, he was wondering if he could just kill the shrieking ooman and stop that grating sound she was making.

Halkrath just snorted and moved slowly, approaching the ooman and kneeling down. He debated for a split second just purring but shook it off and simply roared, cowing the ooman completely.

"Ooman need not scream." He made those strange growling and clicking noises. "These Halkrath hunt brothers. Bhu'ja," He pointed the pale predator out. "Bakuub." He pointed to the wide eyed and wide mandibled predator. Kera just remained silent, her mouth shut tightly eyes wide though she was slowly shifting her facial features into a glare.

"Fuck you." She spat at them all. All three hunters were silent before Bhuja and Bakuub burst into trilling laughter, slapping their thighs and grinning.

"_Seems you need to break her in, brother!_" Bakuub grinned, mandibles moving in an amused manner. Halkrath balked, outraged by her words though he did well in keeping himself under control for the time being.

"_Sei-i… there is much for me to do._" He huffed, grabbing Kera by the back of her neck and hauling her up. The ooman screeched and struggled for a few moments before giving up, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the three smirking giants.

"Ooman need learn respect." Bhu'ja's ooman speak was alright but his words were so garbled and growled that it was nearly impossible to understand him. "Would enjoy teaching." He smirked in a way that had cold shivers running down Kera's spine. Halkrath moved and put her back into the nest of furs, growling at her to stay put.

"_Come, I will tell you of my hunt._" He motioned to his brothers, leading Bhu'ja to another room that Kera hadn't even been aware of.

Bakuub however stayed behind, watching the ooman curiously. He knew he should follow Halkrath, wanted to hear his tale but the ooman held his interest more. So throwing caution to the wind, Bakuub lowered into a crouch, head still cocked as he flexed his mandibles and tried to smile at the ooman.

"No hurt." He told her softly. "Not as violent as brother. Ooman interesting."

Kera studied him quietly, noting that he was indeed much more friendly than the other two. He seemed young as well, despite the scars she could now see covering his scaly body.

"Ooman have name?"

"Kera." She told him after a few hesitant moments. She looked to where brutes one and two had gone and relaxed when they didn't come back.

"Keeerrraaa?" Bakuub thought it sounded funny but then again, oomans themselves were pretty strange. "Bakuub." He thumped his fist against his chest. Kera didn't even want to try pronouncing that. Mulling over her thoughts, Kera barely noticed Bakuub get closer and squeaked when a large hand descended on her head, patting roughly and tugging her hair. "Strange fur."

"It's called hair. And please stop, my neck now hurts from that.. Patting." If it could even be called that.

"Hurt?" His eyes widened. Halkrath would surely skin him if Bakuub had indeed injured the ooman! "No tell Halkrath. Not mean to hurt."

"Relax, I'm not injured." She watched as the big alien relaxed and nodded, trilling. Out of her own curiosity, she reached out and touched one of his mandibles, listening as he started to purr. "Cool."

"Cool? Not cold here. What mean?" At this she had to stifle a giggle.

"No, it doesn't always mean something is cold." She smiled for the first time since arriving. "Sometimes it means something is interesting."

"Cool." He grinned at her, making the ooman giggle.

"Now you've got it." Kera pulled her hand back.

"Keeerrraaa want be Bakuub friend?" He suddenly asked. "Can learn and teach much." Kera gave this some thought. So far he was the only one who had given her any ounce of kindness and he really was quite sweet... For a giant killer alien.

"Alright, I'll be your friend." Bakuub gave a wide smile, clicking and growling in what could only be described as joy.

Perhaps being here would not be so bad.


End file.
